Police Advise Gold Shops To Arm Themselves.

[Richb2004v2]

Is it only me or does anyone else find it alarming to read that Thai police are advising Gold shop owners to arm themselves. The Post ran the story today complete with a picture of a girl wielding a huge gun. Surely this is madness. They must be a more responsible way to tackle the problem. There actions are putting countless numbers of guns on the streets, guns that will remain on the streets in the long term. Once the crime wave is sorted out will the police then collect in the guns? I take it ‘arm themselves’ means just that. Will this not prompt the gold thieves to then counter arm themselves? What will the authorities do next? Maybe they will advise the people of the south to begin constructing their own bombs and terrorizing the terrorists.

[soundman]

I think you'll find that most gold shops allready keep a gun within easy reach. Where i live there are about seven gold shops on the main street. They all keep fire arms.

Maybe the police are just advising the shop owners in a prelude to the riots & looting that is sure to follow the dissillution of the main political parties which is reasonably probable to occur at the end of this month.

Cheers,

Soundman.

[kmart]

The cops have other vitally important things to doing, like shaking other businesses down for extortion money and protecting casinos, etc.

Is it just me, or does all that dazzling array of amazing amounts of gold look just a tad... tempting?

Not saying they're "asking for it" or anything, but displays a little less ostentatious might just prevent people getting shot. Of course now everyone in the criminal business knows goldshop owners are packing, they will just shoot first.....

[naka]

I lived for twenty years in one of the worlds most dangerous countries.

My best friends were my three big dogs ... two outside and one inside (that's important)

and I always had a Verey pistol at hand, a blast in the chest with a flare

gun sends the most dedicated crim on his way !

And hey ... you can still see him glowing from a mile away

Naka.

Edited May 19, 2007 by naka

[cdnvic]

Some lady got killed trying to use a gun against a robber at a Chiang Mai gold shop about a month ago.

Gold's worthless to her now....

[Richb2004v2]

Thais seem to have something missing when it comes to safety. I can not imagine them implementing any kind of gun safety, like keeping the gun out of the reach of children. I can visualize the gun being stored fully loaded in the same drawer in the kitchen as the chopsticks and spoons. Many accidents waiting to happen I think.

[cdnvic]

Here's the thread about the Chiang Mai gold shop robbery. It was her own gun that killed her.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=110122

[Daffy D]

I remember long time ago, maybe my first or second trip, to Penang for visa run.

While waiting for my visa I spent the time at the Komtor shopping center – shopping.

What I remember most was seeing a security guard sitting outside a gold shop with a shotgun, presumably loaded and ready for use.

That in it’s self was not unusual as on the street where all the gold shops were there was a similar guard at each one.

The thing with the Komtar gold shop was that it was right next to a McDonnalds.

D.D.

[bkkmadness]

In the Phillipines they guard the Mc Donalds with a shotgun.

[Pomthai]

I've lived and worked in places such as Panama, Ecuador, Honduras and believe me slack gun laws don't help crime rates. In the aforementioned places every shop and I mean all of them have armed security, cashiers are behind bars & bullet proof glass/panels even in the mom & pop hardware stores. Not something I'd like to see every becoming common here.

Edit In fact even night clubs in Honduras have a couple of guys with automatic weapons on the door to "discourage trouble".

Edited May 19, 2007 by Pomthai

[Daffy D]

In the Phillipines they guard the Mc Donalds with a shotgun.

I was in the Philippines for shift rotation in a former life – it was OK then.

A bit like Thailand thinks it is!

D.D.

[KireB]

I lived for twenty years in one of the worlds most dangerous countries.

My best friends were my three big dogs ... two outside and one inside (that's important)

and I always had a Verey pistol at hand, a blast in the chest with a flare

gun sends the most dedicated crim on his way !

And hey ... you can still see him glowing from a mile away

Naka.

You must have lived in the USA!

Naka aka Dirty Harry!